As a global provider of flow control technology, Gardner Denver are very familiar with exporting their products and services. They produce high-pressure compressors for a diverse range of applications across many different industries, from nuclear submarines to formula one race teams, and export out across the entire world.
Because the vast majority of their products are bespoke and custom-made for each individual company, it’s important for Gardner Denver to have a close relationship with their customers in order to determine what will suit them best.
This is why Gardner Denver have sales offices in most countries to which they export, and employ 6,400 employees across the world; so that they can deliver a solution which is designed to fit the application. A local presence helps the manufacturer to understand the needs of their clients in every part of the world.
Peter Satchwell, Sales Director at Gardner Denver Ltd, explains how the company exports from their Redditch factory. Mr. Satchwell says that the majority of of their custom high-pressure products are exported out of the UK, and they’re always expanding into new regions and supplementing their existing facilities.
In terms of the future of exporting from the UK, Mr. Satchwell expresses Gardner Denver’s confidence in the resilience of their export skills and in UK exporting in general, adding:
“For the GD high-pressure business, we’re working upon a foundation 140 years of British heritage, and we retain the capabilities of our talented engineers.”
Of course, any current discussion over the future of UK exporting cannot go without bringing up the topic of Brexit. When discussing how concerns over Brexit might be affecting Gardner Denver’s operations, Mr. Satchwell said:
“A large portion of our business is outside of the concerns of Brexit; a large amount of our supply chain is UK-based, and we export globally, not just to Europe.”
Therefore, when considering other manufacturers who might be unsure about the impact Brexit might have on exporting, it might be advisable to broaden your scope and look to export across the world, not just within Europe. Mr. Satchwell also advises companies to retain their trust in the proven capabilities of UK manufacturing and its renowned capacity for exporting.
“The British brand is still very, very strong,” says Mr. Satchwell, “and should only be promoted more as we are doing more. I don’t see this changing.”